1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of electrical distribution systems, and in particular, to monitoring the electrical use of a residence using the electrical wires as part of the communications network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, the electrical power used by a residence is monitored with an external meter. The meter is checked once a month to determine the amount of electrical power used by the residence. Many meters are manually checked, although remotely read meters are gaining prevalence. In most cases the amount of power used by the residence is accumulated over the month and only the total amount of power used during the month is recorded. The rate of power usage during any given time is typically unavailable. Utilities typically charge more for electrical power at peak usage periods. The Utility may also have a tiered pricing structure where a low rate is charged for a base level of use, a higher rate is charged for next amount of power used, and the highest rate is charged for the amount of power used above a predetermined amount. For example, the first 1000 kilowatt/hours of electrical power may cost 5 cents per Kilowatt/hour, the next 500 kilowatt/hours may cost 8 cents per kilowatt/hour, and all power used in addition to the first 1500 kilowatt/hours may cost 15 cents per kilowatt/hour. A consumer that wishes to minimize their electrical costs currently has no way to monitor their electrical usage.
Systems are currently available that use the wiring in a residence as the connections or cabling for a communications network, for example the Ethernet to powerline homeplug adapter EC14H by Mirco-star international, ltd. These systems typically use the ground wire in the residence's power distribution system as the cabling for the communication network. By using the electrical wiring as the network connection, every plug or electrical outlet in the residence is automatically connected to the network. This allows a power monitoring system to monitor the power consumption in the residence at the outlet level, the group level, and the service level. In this application service level means the total electrical power entering the residence. Power monitors are well known in the arts and can be found that already have computer enabled connections. Agilent technologies and Yokogawa are two examples of manufactures that produce power monitors.
There is a need for a method and apparatus that allows a consumer to monitor the electrical power usage in a residence.